Page 131 of Storm of Fury
He dipped down, riding a thermal.
There was no sign of the Keepers. No sign of Ishtar.
And why would she be climbing this particular mountain anyway?
He closed his eyes, opening up the Third Eye that allowed him to see Beyond the mortal plane.
There were five flaring hearts of gold throbbing in the skies ahead of him.
Dreki.
Sirius roared a challenge and saw Marduk’s head snap up. Then he was wheeling toward the intruders, cutting through the clouds like a scythe.
The lithe black female in front soared forward to meet him, her cohort hanging back.
He recognized her immediately, and this time it wasn’t merely rage that made his heart squeeze in his chest. “I thought I told you I would kill you if you followed us,” he sent, circling his mother.
The pair of them whirled slowly through the air, keeping an eye on each other.
“I’m not following you,” Zorja snarled. “I’m following her.Can’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“World’s End,” Zorja told him. “This mountain top is where the mightiest circle was erected to create a portal to Álfheimr. This is where the King of Álfheimr staged his invasion all those years ago. And for some reason, the girl has been moving directly toward it ever since she left my lands.”
“The only way you would know that is if—”
“I had someone follow you.” Zorja dipped her wing sarcastically. “Of course I had someone follow you. I told you of the power she has. Do you think I would allow her to roam free? If her magic doesn’t overwhelm her, then she could get herself killed.”
Sirius’s nostrils flared. Whoever it was, they were good, for he hadn’t even sensed them.
“Something’s not right, Sirius. She’s not acting at all like herself.”
“Maybe she’s finally free of your prison.”
“It wasn’t a prison,” Zorja snarled. “It was meant to protect her and keep her safe. She likes the dark. She likes the warmth. The world can be too bright and loud for her at times. And this is not the first time she’s escaped. Once a month she likes to watch the moon rise, though we always find her in the same place. Illarion tends to unlock the cells and follow her from a distance. She says she talks to the voice in the moon.” Zorja’s wings dipped as she glanced down. “But she’s never been able to evade us like this. I didn’t think she had the capacity to do so. She will walk through a river, even though she cannot swim. She will climb a cliff because she wants to see the rocks at the top of it. She doesn’t see the risk sometimes. Not enough to lead nearly a dozendrekion a merry chase like this. Nor does she like leaving the safety of her cave or our mountain range. She’s a child of habit. Something’s not right here.”
Her argument killed his rage. “Why would she be drawn here?”
“We found runes carved into the walls of her prison. Elvish runes. She looks to have chiseled them herself.”
Though he’d been born after the Great Wars, he knew the ljósálfar constantly sought a way to return to the mortal plane in order to gain their revenge upon thedrekiwho had locked them out.
If Ishtar had spent years hidden away in the dark, then how would she even know what elvish runes looked like?
“She’s the most powerful Chaos-wielder in the world,” he said, half to himself. “One with the ability to create portals.” And if Sirius was an elvish king with a thirst for revenge, then he knew exactly what he would do to gain it. But first, he would need a means to open the portals on this mortal plane that linked Midgard to Álfheimr. The thought left him breathless, for the ljósálfar felt like myths to him, though he knew they existed.“Who had access to her in the caves?”
“Myself,” Zorja replied, “Illarion and Vadim. Perhaps one or two others of my personal guard. She nearly tore apart the throne room when she was ten, and I was forced to contain her. She nearly destroyed the court.”
Which narrowed the pool of people with access to her.
Somewhere out there, one of those smarmy, mincing elves was laughing at them.
Sirius glanced toward the mountain below him. The clouds had begun to clear, revealing the top of the mountain. Twelve enormous rune stones guarded the summit, like teeth that sought to consume the sky. Each rune lit up briefly as the light of the rising moon glanced over them.
And for the first time, he felt the underlying hum in the air, as if the ground within those stones vibrated minutely.
“Fuck,” he said, dipping his wing and plummeting through the skies. “We have to find her first.”
